Heroes of Running 2006

Heroes of running are everywhere

Go to any 5-K, marathon, track, or running trail in America, and you'll find them. They are the beginners who cross a finish line for the first time. They are the veterans whose commitment to the sport never wavers, season after season, year after year. They are the phenoms and the underdogs who defy limitations and shatter expectations. Every day at Runner's World, we are inspired by these runners. They all reinforce how with a simple act–the motion of moving forward–we can shape each other, our sport, our world.

Among all the impressive feats runners accomplished this year, there were nine athletes whose achievements made us especially proud, including the first American woman to break 2:20 in the marathon, the governor who is spreading his get-fit crusade across the country, and the world champion who is helping to feed the world's neediest children. We honor them–the Runner's World Heroes of Running 2006–not only for the heroics they've demonstrated but also for the future heroes they'll inspire.

The Survivor: Mark Goldstein

By Joanna Sayago

In 1988, Mark Goldstein walked into his dermatologist's office in Parsippany, New Jersey, to have a lump in his chest examined. The then 55-year-old communications executive and father of three eventually received a shocking diagnosis: breast cancer. "I was in disbelief that I could even develop breast cancer," Goldstein says. (According to the American Cancer Society, 1,720 men will develop the disease this year.) Goldstein underwent a mastectomy, chemotherapy, and radiation. Like many survivors, he was drawn to the Komen Race for the Cure, the 5-K series that promotes breast-cancer awareness, but the race he wanted to run was for women only. He registered as M. Goldstein and ran wearing the event's signature pink survivor cap. He loved the experience so much that he signed up for every event he could find. By 2006, he'd run all 114 Races for the Cure in the world, some more than once, for a total of 163. "Running has given me an opportunity to reach out," says the 73-year-old, "and be a benefit to a fellow human being."